Authors:
Luke and Katie @ungracefulguide and theungracefulguide.com
If you are a regular reader of our blog you’ll know that we are big fans and advocates of volunteering, as well as MASSIVE animal lovers.
Sangkhlaburi Animal Sanctuary:
Previously known as Baan Unrak Animal Sanctuary (and originally founded in 2007, under the Thai Animal Sanctuary name) the Sangkhlaburi Animal Sanctuary is an animal-haven. It’s a self-funded clinic/halfway house for the street dogs and cats of Sangkhlaburi, in the Kanchanaburi province of Thailand. It’s about 7 hours by the daily direct AC Bus from Bangkok’s Mo Chit (southern) bus station – a little bit less if you take a minivan.
The Sanctuary is (or, at the time of writing, was) 100% self funded and depends on the kindness of donations from locals, strangers and its ever-growing community of volunteers and ex-volunteers to keep its doors open and the good work continuing (although we hold our fingers firmly crossed that this will change and either a corporation, business or the government get behind this fantastic organisation!).
The few (well, one) full time staff is so dedicated that she sometimes go without days off and/or sleep, opting instead to put the welfare of the sanctuary and its residents above their own.
Who the hell are these saintly, if not slightly mental people I hear you ask? I’ll tell you. The manager of the sanctuary, Denise, or as we came to call her, Mum, is just that. She’s a chain-smoking, straight-shooting, no bullshit hero of a woman who would take a bullet for any of the (sometimes) four legged fur balls in her care.
She has a heart of gold and a razor sharp wit, and would sooner (and has) forcibly remove an animal from its owner than see it suffer. We don’t know how she does the job because she feels every wound and sad story as if it were happening directly to her. She cries more than anyone we’ve ever met, and when she reads this she’s going to kick us right up the arse! (we miss you mum x). She is responsible for the day-to-day bureaucracy of running the sanctuary and its volunteers and making sure the doors stay open.
At the time of writing, the Sanctuary was home to over 30 resident dogs and 6 cats, which in itself is a monstrous undertaking. But on top of that ,the clinic is responsible for providing “free” veterinary care for all the local animals, and educating the local people in matters of animal welfare and animal care. They also, when possible, head out into even more rural areas to engage in “spay camps”, where they will humanely sterilise both wild and domestic animals in order to stem the spread of potentially fatal sexually transmitted diseases and over population.
The work they do is incredible and indispensable.
They work really hard to re-home (most of) the resident animals, even organising flight volunteers (basically an in-air chaperone so the authorities allow the animal to fly) for animals lucky enough to have found their forever homes, most of which are with ex-volunteers who have fallen in love with one of these canine characters.
What’s involved in volunteering?
Well, that depends. They are constantly in need of vets and vet nurses whose responsibilities are all clinic based, and as such a little outside of our knowledge base. But, with regards to general volunteers, no experience is needed. Just a love of all things furry and a desire to make things better for the animals, although a thick skin and a strong stomach would be a massive plus.
A typical day:
A regular day at the sanctuary (if there is such a thing) involves cleaning pens/enclosures, walking the dogs, feeding and socialising, tacked on with any maintenance work or ongoing projects. Throw in a two-hour break that allows you to not only enjoy the local food at crazily cheap prices, but throw in a decent lunchtime nap as well, followed by an afternoon of walks and feedings, and then more play time with the doggos!
Some volunteers take on other duties and projects such as manning the social media accounts, making enrichment toys for the animals, fund-raising, behavioural training etc. (ALL of which we got involved in of course and suggest you do the same!) Get creative, bring ideas to the table and take control of what you can – every. little. helps.
Accommodation:
Previously, we’ve been wary of volunteering anywhere that has a cost associated with it, and while there is no cost to volunteer at the sanctuary they do provide accommodation at a local “volunteer house” which has a kitchen and is a 3 minute walk from the sanctuary for the meagre price of 150 Baht per night (€4) .
Note that this is just a cost to cover the bills and rent, there are no profits made here and none of the accommodation costs goes to the sanctuary. You’re more than welcome to source your own digs but we doubt you’ll do better, and besides its great craic to hang out with the other volunteers, we made some amazing lifelong friends here.
Summary:
This was one of the most fulfilling, difficult, wonderful, infuriating, heart warming and heart breaking experiences of our life. This is one that will go to the grave with us, lads. We went to volunteer for two weeks (minimum required is one week) which turned into two months. You heard us – TWO MONTHS.
Sanghklaburi Animal Sanctuary is the kind of place where you take away what you’re willing to put in. We learned to administer vaccines and other medications, we assisted in surgeries, fell even more in love with animals, helped (in some small way) save lives, wept for the ones we couldn’t, raged at owners who mistreated or abandoned any furry friend of ours, laughed at beautiful reunions, picked up poop (lots of poop!), walked three at a time in monsoon rain and buried far too many for such a short period of time, each beautiful one of them became a mark in our hearts, for better or worse, but forever.
If you are an animal person and you find yourself in Thailand, with a week or two to spare, get in touch with them and give some time. They need, and greatly appreciate it, and it will enrich your life no end, we promise. It will be an experience you won’t soon forget.
What started off as a quirky way to spend a couple of weeks while giving something back, quickly became a cause that is incredibly dear to us both. We made a promise to ourselves that when we settle down we’ll adopt (at least) one of these amazing beasts, the only problem became, which one(s)? We both have our favourites, so there’ll be killings while we try to decide!
The Ungraceful Guide:
Katie and Luke describe themselves as “two (and a bit) tight-arsed, potty-mouthed backpackers ungracefully laughing our way around the world”.
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